China

Info on ChinaGeographical Info: Geographically, China is one of the largest countries in the world with roughly 9.6 million square kilometers, or roughly the same size as the United States. It is located on the Eastern Asian Landmass and is bordered on the east by the Pacific Ocean. Adjacent to China are Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan to the North; North Korea to the NorthEast; India and Pakistan to the SouthWest; Bangladesh, Burma, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam to the South.

Population/demographics/Languages:Currently, China is the country with the largest population with roughly 1.3 billion people. Today’s population is a conglomeration of hundreds of ethnic groups that have comprised China’s population throughout its history. This wide diverse ethnic makeup of today’s China also gave rise to a wide range of dialects spoken in China. Experts estimate the number of dialects between 15-30, depending upon classification schemes. However, of the various regional dialects, Mandarin, sometimes known as PutungHua or Guoyu is the most common. It is notable that taken as a whole, roughly one fifth of the world speaks one form of Chinese as their native language.

History of China: China’s history dates back into the furthest reaches of antiquity as one of the oldest continuous civilizations. The ancient beginnings of China are dated back to the Xia Dynasty which was about 2000 BCE (Before Common Era). This Ancient Era of Chinese history continued on until the Imperial Era (Unified China) began with the Qin Dynasty in 221 BCE. The subsequent chain of imperial dynasties spanned 2000 years and ended with the Qing Dynasty and tide of European imperialism. The Qing Dynasty ended in 1912 and the Modern Era of China began with the Republic of China, and then the People Republic of China in 1949 into today.v

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